When the dust settled on the fantastic match between former finalist Tomas Berdych and Jiri Vesely, Berdych had won 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(8), (9)6-7, 6-3. The match, remarkably, lasted around four hours, consisted of five sets, and was played over two days. The match was truly remarkable, and honestly, who doesn't love a long five-set battle with two players playing their hearts out during the second week of a major? But, the circumstances surrounding the match are where the problems lie.
By the tiebreak in the fourth set, tensions were high. Berdych had lead 5-2* in the fourth, had three match points at *5-6, and was soon down in the tiebreak 6-1*. Berdych actually came all of the way back from that 6-1* deficit, missing two more match points in the tiebreak. Vesely eventually went on to win the tiebreak 11-9, and the fifth set of the match pushed till today.
And while the fifth set only lasted 37 minutes, Berdych winning it 6-3, the combination of the physical strain from a match lasting around four hours, and the mental strain of having to sleep on the match overnight (after having multiple match points last night) created a tricky situation for both players, and will continue to have an effect on Berdych for his quarterfinal match tomorrow against Lucas Pouille.
There was arguably not even enough sunlight to finish the tiebreak last night. As ESPN showed last night, sunset in London yesterday was at 9:19 PM, and the clock struck this time during the tiebreak last night. As soon as 9:19 PM hits, play absolutely should have stopped on all outer courts. Playing the match in darkness leads the match to have a "roulette feel". Due to the fact that sight is obviously an important sense to have on the tennis court, if lack of light is hindering one's sight, as what happens when the sun sets, and was almost certainly evidenced by Berdych's mood during the tiebreak (in addition to his frustrations because of his blown chances), then the match should obviously be stopped, not matter the point in the match where sunset occurs.
So, not stopping play upon sunset was one problem that Berdych-Vesely displayed yesterday. However, another issue was at hand. Playing best-of-five tennis is a grueling endeavor for a tennis player. Players has to compete at a very high level for quite a long time, while staving off any physical ailments that could occur over the course of the match.
Keeping this in mind, it is extremely unfair of Wimbledon to force Berdych (or Vesely had he won) to play four straight days in order to reach the Semifinals. Berdych and Vesely playedThird Round matches against Alexander Zverev and Joao Sousa, respectively, on the Middle Sunday, where there is typically no play (a ridiculous rule, honestly) because of issues with rain. The two then had to battle each other yesterday for over three hours, and today for over half an hour. While playing so little today might not seem like a big deal, but the cumulative effects of playing so much tennis, and for the winner, Berdych, having to play again tomorrow is a huge ask.
So, what could Wimbledon have done to alleviate the hardship they put on the victor? The answer is quite simple. As at least one commentator on ESPN heard based on Berdych's reaction to stopping yesterday, moving the match to Centre Court to finish under the roof, and the lights, was certainly a good option to make sure that the winner would get a full day of rest.
Considering that in-progress matches have been moved to Centre Court before to finish under the lights, such as Simon-Monfils last year and Bouchard-Rybarikova this year, it wouldn't be such a crazy idea to allow the fifth set of Berdych-Vesely to played under the roof at Centre Court. When one considers competitive balance, such as the fact that Pouille, and everyone else that was left in the entire main draw, had finished their matches already and would be receiving an off-day today, then it certainly seems like the wrong decision to force Berdych and Vesely to come out and finish their match today.
If this was the French Open, where there are (unfortunately) no lights, then of course make the players come back the next day to finish the match. However, when there are resources available that would prevent one playing from gaining a competitive advantage over another, then it is deplorable if you don't use them.
Ultimately, I am left having to say that the officials of the most prestigious tournament on the planet handled the Berdych-Vesely match poorly. And now, while the tennis world turns their attention to the men's Quarterfinals, former finalist Tomas Berdych will have to pay the price, not only for not closing out the match sooner, but because the Wimbledon officials, totally out of his control, made a poor decision.
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